The Bill Collector Letter That Finally Gets Rid of Them
Remember that feeling you got when the letter from the bill collector came in the mail? Remember the cold feeling in your gut when you realized that you owed money that you couldn't repay? And after that, the phone calls and additional letters hounding you for the money that you knew you didn't have.
It's time to turn the tables. It's time to learn your rights and to exercise them.
There's a Federal law called the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act that outlines exactly what a collector can and cannot do to collect on a debt. The FDCPA, as it is called, sets limits on when and how a debt collector can contact you.
An example of what a debt collector can't do is to call you at work, unless they're doing it to find out a telephone number to call you at your house. They're also not allowed to inform other people, such as your employer, about any debts that you owe.
In addition, debt collection agents can't continue to call or contact you about your debt if you tell them that they can no longer do so. And that is what we're going to learn about how to do.
The magic letter to bill collectors is made up of two parts:
The first is any identifying information for you. This would include your name, home address, and account number for the account in question, as well as any other information they will need to identify you as the account holder for the debt in question.
The second part is to let them know that you want them to stop communicating with you, period.
This is all that the FDCPA requires you to do to stop the bill collector from contacting or harassing you in the future. The only additional correspondence that the bill collector can send to you is a letter notifying you that they will stop contacting you, and whether or not they intend to pursue legal action in order to collect on the debt.
When you send this letter, it's always good to send it by certified mail with a delivery receipt requested. The delivery receipt lets you know that the debt collector actually received the letter. Make sure that you keep this receipt in case you ever have to prove that they received the letter.
According to the rules of the FDCPA, if the debt collector continues to contact you in the future, they're in violation of the law. You then have the right to report them to the FTC, which is the agency that actually enforces the FDCPA. After you've notified the FTC about the legal violation by the debt collector, the FTC can take legal action against the debt collector on your behalf.
Don't forget that even if you notify the debt collector not to contact you anymore, they can still pursue you via legal action if they want to collect on the debt. The letter I've described can only keep debt collectors from harassing you. It can't keep them from suing you in a court of law if they still intend to collect on the debt. - 23217
It's time to turn the tables. It's time to learn your rights and to exercise them.
There's a Federal law called the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act that outlines exactly what a collector can and cannot do to collect on a debt. The FDCPA, as it is called, sets limits on when and how a debt collector can contact you.
An example of what a debt collector can't do is to call you at work, unless they're doing it to find out a telephone number to call you at your house. They're also not allowed to inform other people, such as your employer, about any debts that you owe.
In addition, debt collection agents can't continue to call or contact you about your debt if you tell them that they can no longer do so. And that is what we're going to learn about how to do.
The magic letter to bill collectors is made up of two parts:
The first is any identifying information for you. This would include your name, home address, and account number for the account in question, as well as any other information they will need to identify you as the account holder for the debt in question.
The second part is to let them know that you want them to stop communicating with you, period.
This is all that the FDCPA requires you to do to stop the bill collector from contacting or harassing you in the future. The only additional correspondence that the bill collector can send to you is a letter notifying you that they will stop contacting you, and whether or not they intend to pursue legal action in order to collect on the debt.
When you send this letter, it's always good to send it by certified mail with a delivery receipt requested. The delivery receipt lets you know that the debt collector actually received the letter. Make sure that you keep this receipt in case you ever have to prove that they received the letter.
According to the rules of the FDCPA, if the debt collector continues to contact you in the future, they're in violation of the law. You then have the right to report them to the FTC, which is the agency that actually enforces the FDCPA. After you've notified the FTC about the legal violation by the debt collector, the FTC can take legal action against the debt collector on your behalf.
Don't forget that even if you notify the debt collector not to contact you anymore, they can still pursue you via legal action if they want to collect on the debt. The letter I've described can only keep debt collectors from harassing you. It can't keep them from suing you in a court of law if they still intend to collect on the debt. - 23217
About the Author:
Sean Payne can teach you plenty about how to get out of debt. After more than a decade of learning about how to get out of debt, he has developed a powerful strategy to keep bill collectors from calling. You can discover his secrets for paying off debt at his amazing website.